Activists in welfare cuts protest

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13 April 2013

Around 200 people have gathered outside the home of Baron David Freud, minister for welfare reform, to protest against the bedroom tax and benefits cap.

People played drums and wrote out postcards to send to Lord Freud as they sat outside his semi-detached house, said to be worth £1.9 million, in Langbourne Avenue, Highgate, North London.

Protesters sat in the street on beds and duvets and some held up signs reading: "Who wants to evict a millionaire?"

Author and commentator Owen Jones and Green party leader Natalie Bennett came to show their support for the protest, organised by UK Uncut.

Mr Jones said: "Lord Freud is an unelected politician from one of the most privileged backgrounds imaginable.

"He had no background whatsoever in social security and welfare state, and yet he's one of the figureheads of this Government's offensives against welfare state and social security.

"Instead of just bailing out the banks and let them carry on doing exactly what they want, let's take proper control of the banks that should rightly belong to us, the people who bailed them out.

"We stand together, we fight together and, friends, we will win this together."

Also addressing the crowd, Natalie Bennett said: "The rich must pay their taxes, multinationals must pay their taxes and the rich must get their fair share."

A neighbour said Lord Freud, who also has a home in Kent, was not in his house this weekend, saying: "He obviously knew what was going to happen I would imagine."

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